We’re dedicating this post to everybody who is currently learning how to trade. We really appreciate the effort our traders and team put into making this hive work.

When I was in third grade, our class had a career day; our homework was to go home and talk to our parents about what they did for work and share with the class the next day. That night, I climbed up on my parent’s bed where my dad was focused on his laptop.

“Dad? What do I tell my class you do for a career?”

He faced me with a serious expression on his face,

“Tell them I catch invisible numbers from the air and turn them into money.”

My father? He probably thought he was so funny sending his innocent daughter to face her teacher on career day with that explanation of his job. I was still young enough to have complete faith in whatever my dad told me: that he caught invisible numbers and he was a leprechaun. It wasn’t until years later that I actually knew what that explanation meant…and that he wasn’t really a leprechaun (but if you’ve seen Shawn, you can understand why believed him for all those years).

Most of the time, as people, what we don’t understand intimidates us. For example, the first time you saw a trading chart you might have thought it was overwhelmingly confusing and impossible to understand (you guys are probably smarter than me though, please say I wasn’t the only one!). One thing that I’ve found to help me is to look at it as simple parts; I like to view it as a math problem where I learn little things that add up to the whole: Trading. If we follow the old adage to learn something new everyday then hard things can become easy.

Don’t forget to take a moment to look back and appreciate how far you’ve come. The great thing about a lot of us is that we come from non-financial specialized backgrounds. We’re changing the image of traders! We have a firm belief that anyone who has the desire and discipline can become a successful trader, and you guys are proving it. Please take a moment to feel good about what you’re doing before you get back into understanding pips and stop losses.

Happy Trading!

Share this:

How would you answer this question? What is it that makes a trader successful? Is there one special quality they need, one bit of knowledge they need to learn, one tool that they could use to make them successful? Or maybe, it’s just luck. They are lucky, and now they are successful!

Well, the truth is, there is no one simple thing that can be given to immediately make a trader successful. Luck may help sometimes, but it’s not a reliable process that we can count on. The only consistent and proven way that makes a trader successful is by the process of hard work. Nothing will be given to you without you putting the time and effort into your trading, and even then it may still take a while. Time and hard work will eventually place you in a position where you can be successful. The question is – are you willing to put in the time and effort needed to become a successful trader?

Successful traders have spent the time to learn how to trade, and then used that knowledge to create a trading plan. Most have written their rules down, so they know exactly what to do to enter a trade and to exit a trade. If I asked everyone to send me their written trading plan (please don’t, I don’t have enough time to read them), most traders couldn’t because they either don’t have one or haven’t taken the time to make it real by putting it down on paper. If you don’t have a well-defined and written trading plan, then you are not ready to become a successful trader. This is something that takes time and hard work. Again, I ask – are you willing to put the time and effort to become successful?

The development of a trading plan does not need to be complicated. In fact, it should be as simple as possible. Let me suggest a few things that you should begin to develop your trading plan.

Define the “why” for your trading. I know you want to make money but the “why” is more than just money, it is the reason behind your need for money.

Define your risk rules. You need to identify your “sweet spot” for how much you are willing to risk. If you risk too much you will become fearful and if you don’t risk enough you will feel unsatisfied. This should include how much risk you want to take in each trade, as well as how to calculate your position size.

Define your entry and exit rules. I will put this into two categories. Setups and triggers. The setup is what you see on the chart to know a trade is about to happen while a trigger is what you see on the chart that tells you it’s time to buy or sell.

Define your analysis process. This is what you are going to do to analyze your trades after they are done. Do this on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to make sure your trading plan is working the way you want.

Ok, so that’s it! (Well, at least some of it) If you want to be successful then create a well-defined and written trading plan. Do not leave your success to luck or chance or anything else. It’s up to you – now go and put the time and effort into your success! Be that successful trader you want to be!

Happy Trading!

Share this:

A 2014 study conducted by Babson College revealed how fear of failure stops some people from engaging in activities where failure is a possible outcome – including the activity of learning. The study concluded that the fear of failure negatively influences a person’s motivation to learn and their attitude toward learning.

This study has direct implications on the mission and purpose of the Apiary Fund. At its core, the Apiary Fund teaches a person how to manage an investment portfolio – an activity where risk of failure is very real. We accomplish the goal through a progression of classes, simulation, and the eventual management of a small portfolio in live market conditions.

At every step, Apiary works to mitigate the elements of risk and teach a person how to properly analyze and make decisions that include risk. We strive in every possible way to give a person the greatest chance of success in learning how to manage an investment portfolio.

The irony of this study is that when fear of failure prevents a person from engaging in an activity that will make them better, it almost assures their failure in that activity. And when that activity is learning how to manage our finances and investments, the cost of failure can be high! Imagine living your life and avoiding all investment decisions – it is likely to leave you broke for retirement. Imagine giving all those decisions to someone else – it leaves you vulnerable to fraud, mismanagement, and high costs.

We know that many of you join Apiary Fund for the opportunity of trading our money. It is a wonderful incentive – one I wish I had when I was first starting! However, what you really gain through your Apiary experience is a skill and an ability to make intelligent decisions that involve the risk. That is a skill and an ability that has far a greater reach and value in your life than any amount of money you could trade for Apiary Fund!

Happy Trading,
Shawn

Share this:

Hello everyone! It is a real pleasure to work for Apiary Fund. The environment here is awesome, and I am so blessed to work with great people with great energy, attitude, and an ability to always make you feel welcome.

Let me introduce myself, my name is Xavier Parra. I come from Ecuador: a small country in South America. Located in the middle of the world, Ecuador has nice beaches, mountains, and weather-summer all year long!

Some more about me. I have been in the US for over 10 years, and I enjoy having 4 seasons. It seems like time goes faster when you have 4 seasons (I might be the only one who feels that way, who knows). I have a Masters Degree in Economics, and was introduced to the currency market while studying Macroeconomics. I was intrigued by how currencies interact between each other, so I started learning more about this “mysterious market.”

One of the best things about FOREX (at least from my perspective) is that you are interacting with hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. You can feel the pulse of this market by checking the charts. The market keeps me current on the most important news around the world, because based on the news I can establish my positions (either to buy or sell certain currency pairs).

I am here to help people who share the same passion as me. I want to help people learn to love the things they learn from the market everyday.

Thanks!

-Xavier

Share this:

We just want to say thank you to everyone who has been sending us feedback for Alveo. It’s because of that our IT department knows exactly what to work on each day to make the Alveo platform better for everyone to use.

We also wanted to say thank you for all of your patience to those who have called into trader support the last month or so because we have been training some new support staff. As we all know, there is A LOT of information that is needed to know about trading-and Apiary Fund-to be successful. It can be a bit overwhelming at times for someone new-especially when everyone looks to you for answers when calling into trader support. We just want to give a shout out to Aeron, Vincent, and Pete for putting all of their hard work into being the great trader support team that we are!

Share this:

I started working for Apiary Fund in 2013. Before I got involved, I had never traded before; I don’t think I had even used a computer. I had been a union worker out of Local 27 for ten years. I never had enough money to even think about trading, or learn what forex was. If it wasn’t for Shawn, I know I wouldn’t be here…

I was injured in a construction job, which led me to find a new home, and meet an awesome man. He introduced me to his company, the Apiary Fund. He offered me a job-something I had no experience in.

Since I started last year, I have worked my way into a funded account. Trading is something that I can do for the rest of my life. I enjoy that fact that can work from my home and spend time with my family, but no matter where I am, as long as I have a computer, I can trade.

I am very grateful for the turn of events in my life: the support I receive from my now close friend Shawn, the opportunity to come to his Apiary family, my amazing co-workers, and the many, many great people I get to meet on the phone daily.

Share this:

Sometimes it seems like the market is out to get you; every trade you make goes against you like some sniper waiting to shoot you down. Rest assured that you are not alone in feeling this way. In fact, it is a common feeling among both seasoned and novice traders.

However, what I’m going to tell you may poke at your ego a bit so brace for impact! The truth of the matter is that the forex market really doesn’t care who you are or where your trades are placed. Some may say that the broker has it out for them-which is also incorrect because if you lose your money and close your account they miss out on future commissions. The market can seem cold and callous. It can also seem happy and spritely. How can the same market have such extremes? The answer is simple, psychology.

In addition to supply and demand, the major factors that move the market are fear and greed. When you give into these feelings, regardless of who you are, the market will swallow you whole, chew you up, and spit you out. Sometimes it seems like you can’t get a straight answer out of the market-like a scene straight out of the Notebook. It feels like you’re pulling teeth just to make a pip. This is all part of psychology.

We all fall victim to these traps every now and then, but the best way that I have found to overcome getting discouraged and/or giving up is to write down my trading plan again. I write down the specific patterns I need to look for. Then, I write down what I am feeling when I place a trade. Finally, I try to follow the old adage, “plan your trade and trade your plan.”

Most errors come in the form of adjusting your trades outside of your trading plan when faced with a candle or trade that goes against you, but if you develop a solid system you won’t have to worry about the ups, the downs, the sideways, or the spikes. You can trust your lifejacket of a trading plan, and as long as you follow it all will be ok.

Keep in mind that trading is not always just a+b=c, and when a=%^& instead of c… then we have a tendency to freak out and ask why. Sometimes accidents happen, and sometimes the market does what it wants. As long as we keep that in mind we can smile when it shoots up, grin when it climbs down, and learn to go with the flow. Remember, those who give up on something will never be successful at it.

Disclaimer

Investing in securities, currencies, and/or contracts associated therewith carries inherent risks. No person, institution, or entity, including the Apiary Investment Fund, can guarantee a return on investment for such transactions. Neither the Apiary Investment Fund nor its representatives will recommend the purchase, sale, or transaction advice for a specific security.